Societies Convention 2013
WOW ! All I can say is that I have had a fabulous time at the Societies Convention 2013.
It was great to be invited to speak at one of¬†Europe’s¬†largest photographic conventions and trade shows for the third consecutive year. This year I ran two different seminars and each day the rooms were packed (one of them really was standing room only !). The Societies are the only photographic body in the UK that run an event like this and it is open to both members and non-members. this year they had over 14,000 people through the doors.
This year was the first year that the Societies Convention has ben held at the Hilton Hotel on Edgeware Road. This is a lovely location right in the heart of London. One of the major advantages of this venue is that they have the space so the trade show doesn’t have to be cleared away for the awards dinner. This meant that the awards dinner could be held on the Saturday night rather than the Sunday night, much better for everyone that has to go to work on a Monday morning 🙂
I arrived on Thursday to catch some of the judging of the print competition and qualification panels, it is always fascinating to hear the judges comments. Friday was spent catching up with friends and walking round the trade show, it was also a chance to catch up with my sponsors, Loxley Colour, and have a look at the new products they have just launched. Friday night I went out to have a walk along the embankment to Westminster and take the opportunity to do a little night time street photography.
Saturday and Sunday I was speaking and it was lovely to see so many people attend my seminars 🙂 In between time I spent the time catching up with old friends and making new friends. I also managed to get out for a couple of runs. I am marathon training at the moment so have quite a bit of running that needs doing….. Saturday morning I went out and ran around Hyde Park, I don’t think I have ever been all the way round Hyde Park before. On Sunday I went for a run from the Paddington Basin along the Grand Union Canal. I didn’t realise how close the hotel was to the Paddington basin until one of the delegates in my seminar told me about it !
Saturday night was the awards dinner, this is both trade awards and photographic awards. One of the awards was in memory of one of the Societies members, David Routledge, who sadly died last year. David’s wife and children came to the awards dinner to present the award and it was a¬†privilege to spend the evening with them. Sunday evening was the “Legends” dinner, a chance to socialise and here from some of the legends in the photographic industry about their careers.
I really love attending the Societies Convention, there really is no other event like it and I’m already planning next year !
Anyway, these are a couple of the photographs taken on my Friday night “walkabout” 🙂